Survivable mobile network system

ABSTRACT

A method of establishing communication links during a failure within a mobile communications network includes detecting disruptions in communications between a plurality of base stations and a plurality of mobile terminals. Survivability components are activated within the base station and the mobile terminal to operate in a survivability mode. The survivability mode enables communications and services to be provided by the surviving base stations to mobile terminals through activated survivability components. The alternate communication links may operate for as long as a disruption exists.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This is a U.S. National Stage Application of International ApplicationNo. PCT/CA2010/000645, entitled “SURVIVABLE MOBILE NETWORK SYSTEM”,filed Apr. 30, 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

This disclosure relates to management of a wireless communicationsnetwork, and more specifically, to a system of maintainingcommunications within a network during network communication failures.

2. Description of the Related Art

Wireless communication networks are vulnerable to disruption and loss ofservice due to disasters or other catastrophic failures. The disastersmay include, without limitation, natural disasters such as floods,earthquakes, tornados, and tsunamis, or a combination of such events.The catastrophic failures may include, for example, without limitation,destruction of base stations, communication links, communicationnetworks, network services or a combination of such events.

In a disaster, it is urgent that emergency services be provided to theaffected communities or areas as quickly as possible. Network orcommunication failures negatively impact the ability of an effective andimmediate emergency response. For example, although emergency responsepersonnel, such as, without limitation, police, fire fighters, military,or rescue workers, may have global terminals or other cellular mobiledevices, communication may be impossible because of a communicationdisruption or destruction of sections of the communications and servicesnetwork.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the disclosure and the various embodimentsdescribed herein, reference is now made to the following briefdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings anddetail description, which show at least one exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless mobile communication network in whichillustrative embodiments of the disclosure may operate;

FIG. 2 illustrates a disrupted wireless communications network in whichillustrative embodiments of the disclosure may operate;

FIG. 3 illustrates a detailed diagram of a base station according to anillustrative embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a detailed block diagram of the survivability modecomponents of the base station illustrated in FIG. 3 according to anillustrative embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a mobile terminal according to anillustrative embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a detail block diagram of the user equipmentsurvivability mode applications according to an illustrative embodimentof the disclosure;

FIG. 7 including partial views FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B illustrates aflowchart that represents the top level operations of a base station ina survivability mode according to an embodiment of the disclosure;

FIG. 8 including partial views FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B illustrates aflowchart that represents the top level operations of a user equipmentin survivability mode according to an embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a mobile terminal in accordance with anillustrative embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood at the outset that although an illustrativeimplementation of one or more embodiments are provided below, thedescription is not to be considered as limiting the scope of theembodiments described herein. The disclosure should in no way be limitedto the illustrative implementations, drawings, and techniquesillustrated and described herein, which may be modified within the scopeof the appended claims along with a full scope of equivalence. It shouldbe appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, whereconsidered appropriate, the reference numerals may be repeated among thefigures in the corresponding or analogous elements.

According to an illustrative embodiment, a system of base stations andmobile terminals distributed within a communications network isdisclosed. The system comprises a number of survivability componentsoperatively monitoring communications within the communications network.The survivability components are located with at least one base stationand a number of the survivability components perform functions ofcorresponding components within the communications network.

In accordance with another embodiment of the disclosure, a base stationof a communications network comprises survivability components thatmaintain operation of the base station during a failure of thecommunications network, wherein a number of the survivability componentscorrespond to components within the communications network that performa same function.

In accordance with a further embodiment of the disclosure, a mobileterminal of a communications network comprises a plurality ofapplications which, when executed by a processor, maintain operations ina survivability mode activated by a mobile terminal during a disruptionof communications within the communications network.

In accordance with another embodiment of the disclosure, a method ofoperating a base station comprises determining, by a detector, anexistence of a communications failure, and responsive to determining theexistence of the communications failure, activating, by an operationscontroller, operations of survivability components in a number of basestations within a communication network.

The present disclosure provides a wireless network survival apparatusthat enable a wireless communication network to maintain functionaloperations even if the network is destroyed or disrupted. The wirelessnetwork survival apparatus includes components that are implemented in amobile terminal or cellular device and base stations. The wirelessnetwork survival components, referred to herein as survivabilitycomponents, may be integrated or designed into a mobile terminal andbase station and may interact with existing hardware and softwarefeatures of the mobile terminal and base station.

In embodiments of the disclosure, the designation “S-” indicates that acomponent is a survivability component. Additionally, as used herein,terminology such as “surviving”, “survivability”, “survival” withrespect to telecommunications and network means the ability to operateor continue operations despite disruptions or failures in networkservices or communications.

The wireless network survival components may be hardware elements,software applications, or a combination of hardware and softwareelements. In the event of an emergency, such as a network services orcommunications disruption, the survivability components of the existingmobile terminals and base stations within the wireless communicationnetwork are activated to allow the continuation of wirelesscommunications, such as, without limitation, the transmission andreception of radio frequency signals and messages.

Turning first to FIG. 1, a mobile wireless communications network 100 inwhich an illustrative embodiment of the disclosure may operate isdepicted. In these depicted examples, the number of base stations andmobile terminals illustrated in mobile wireless communications network100 are merely exemplary and is not limited to the number illustrated.The mobile terminals may include wireless devices, such as, withoutlimitation, a mobile phone, a smart phone, a laptop computer, a personaldigital assistant or other such wireless mobile device as may be knownto one skilled in the art.

In wireless network 100, a plurality of base stations in communicationsnetwork 100 connect to base station controller 102 through a wired orwireless connection. In the illustrative embodiment, base station 1 118and base station 3 148 are connected to base station controller 102 bywired connections 122 and 152, respectively. Wired connections include,but are not limited to, wire cables, fiber cables, or other wired meansknown to one skilled in the art. In an embodiment, the connections tobase station controller 102 may also be wireless. Base stations may alsobe operatively coupled to communications networks, such ascommunications network 104 through wired or wireless means. For example,base station 4 138 may communicate through a wired connection 142 tocommunications network 104.

Base stations within the mobile wireless communications network 100 mayalso be connected to each other or to the network through a wirelesspoint-to-point transmission link, such as back-haul link 124, createdbetween radio links positioned on base stations, such as radio link 134and radio link 144. A back-haul link is a point-to-point radio linkbetween base stations that enables a first base station to communicatewith a second base station or other nodes within the network. In thedepicted example, base station 2 128 communicates through back-haultransmission link 124 to base station 1 118. In an embodiment, basestation controller 102 may be located within a base station of anetwork, such as base station 1 118, base station 2 128, base station 3148, and base station 4 138.

Mobile wireless communications network 100 may also include satelliteground stations, such as satellite ground station 194 that provide radiofrequency transmissions to mobile terminals of the network. In anillustrative embodiment, satellite ground station 194 may transmit andreceive transmissions from communications network 104. Satellite groundstation 194 may send and receive transmissions from a number ofterminals, such as terminal 5 140, through a communications satellite192. As used within this disclosure, “a number of” refers to one or moreitems.

Mobile wireless communications network 100 includes a number of networkcomponents that are operably coupled to the plurality base stations toenable operation of the mobile services network. For example, thenetwork components may include, without limitation, a mobilitymanagement entity (MME) 108, a home location register (HLR) and visitorlocation register (VLR) 112, an authentication center 114, and a gatewayserving node 110. Each network component may be connected to acommunications network 104, and a services network 106.

In an illustrative embodiment, initial communications may be establishedbetween a base station such as base station 1 118 and a mobile terminalsuch as terminal 1 120. Base station 118 communicates with the networkcomponents through base station controller 102 to enable mobile terminal1 120 to access communications network 104 and services network 106. Forexample, base station controller 102 may enable terminal 1 120 andterminal 3 150 to receive and send communications over communicationsnetwork 104 to network components, such as, mobility management entity(MME) 108, the visitor location register and home location register 112,the authentication center 114, and the gateway serving node 110.Communications network 104 may communicate to the network componentsover channels or links, for example, without limitation channel 162,164, 166, and 168, respectively.

For example, the HLR/VLR 112 and the authentication center 114 willidentify each mobile terminal within the network and verify the servicesand capabilities of the mobile terminal. Base station controller 102 maysupervise or control a number of base stations within mobile wirelesscommunications network 100, such as, without limitation, base station 1118, base station 2 128, and base station 3 148 and enable the basestations to connect to the network components, such as, withoutlimitation, authentication center 114, HLR/VLR 112, mobility managemententity 108, and the services network 106 through communications network104.

In illustrative embodiments, the base stations and mobile terminals ofwireless communications network 100 include survivability componentsthat duplicate or perform operations or functions that are similar tothe functionality of the network components that correspond to thesurvivability components. For example, base station 1 118 includessurvivability components 116, base station 2 128, includes survivabilitycomponents 126, base station 3 148 includes survivability components146, and base station 4 138 include survivability components 136.

Similarly, in illustrative embodiments, the mobile terminals of thewireless communications network 100 include survivability componentsthat may be activated in conjunction or along with the survivabilitycomponents of the base stations. For example, mobile terminal 1 includessurvivability component 105, mobile terminal 2 130 includessurvivability component 115, mobile terminal 3 150 includessurvivability component 135, mobile terminal 4 140 includessurvivability component 125, and mobile terminal 5 160 includessurvivability component 145.

The survivability components of the base station include correspondingor duplicate network components in wireless communications network 100.The survivability components are capable of performing the function ofthe network components in the wireless communications network 100, suchas, without limitation, the mobility management entity 108, the homelocation register and visitor location register (VLR/HLR) 112, theauthentication center 114, and the gateway serving node 110.

The corresponding survivability components within each base stationmonitor the functions of the network components during normal operationand record and store information on the operation and operating statusof the network components in wireless communications network 100. Themobile terminals also include survivability components that includesoftware applications and sensing apparatus.

Turning now to FIG. 2, a disrupted wireless communications network inwhich embodiments of the disclosure may operate is illustrated. In FIG.2, the wireless communications network 100 of FIG. 1 is illustrated asbeing disrupted according to an embodiment of the disclosure. In thisillustrative example, mobile wireless communications network 200 mayhave communication disruptions, network services disruptions, or acombination of networks services disruption and communicationdisruptions.

In other embodiments, connections between components may be disrupted,or the component itself may be disrupted. In these depicted examples ofa mobile wireless communications network, such as mobile wirelesscommunications network 200, network services disruption andcommunications disruptions that prevent communications may exist atvarious points within the network. The network services disruption andcommunication disruptions negatively impact the external communicationsof base stations, components, and networks and prevent communicationamong mobile terminals and base stations.

The disruptions of service within mobile wireless communications networkmay include disruptions that affect network services, such as, withoutlimitation, disruptions 272 to base station 246, disruption 278 within acommunications network 204, disruption 284 of a services network 206,disruption 280 between gateway serving node 208 and communicationsnetwork 204, and disruption 282 between gateway serving node 208 andservices network 206. In the illustrative embodiment, a base station orbase station component may be affected by a disruption, such asdisruption 272 to base station 246, even though a communication channelor link to the base station from an existing base station controller,such as communication channel 252 to base station controller 202,remains unaffected, communication channel or link may Disruptions mayalso occur between connections to the base station controller, such as,network disruption 276. Network services disruptions may also includedisruptions to network components, such as disruption 286 to networkcomponent mobility management entity, MME 210, and disruption 288network components Home Location Register/Visitor Location Register,HLR/VLR 212.

The disruptions of service within mobile wireless communications network200 may also include disruptions that affect communications or radiofrequency transmissions. The communication

disruptions within a network may include, for example, withoutlimitation, communication disruption 270 between base station controller202 and base station 1 218, and communication disruption 274 on acommunication channel or link 242 between communications network 204 andbase station 4 238.

In this illustrative example, each base station included survivabilitycomponents that incorporate the capabilities and functions that mayexist in the network components of wireless communications network 200.In the illustrative embodiment, for example, base station 1 218, basestation 2 228, base station 3 248, and base station 4 238, may include asubset of the functions provided by the mobility management entity (MME)210, the visitor/home location registers (VLR/HLR) 212, theauthentication center 214, and the gateway serving node 208.

The survivability components within the base stations, such assurvivability components 216 in base station 1 218, survivabilitycomponents 226 in base station 2 228, survivability components 246 inbase station 3 248, and survivability components 236 in base station 4238, are configured to monitor the operations of the network componentsduring normal operations of the wireless communications network 200.

Disruptions to network services or communications in mobile wirelesscommunications network 200 may result in a number of areas in thewireless communications network and a number of network componentsbecoming disabled or non-functional. A communication or networkdisruption within the wireless communications network activatessurvivability components within surviving base stations, such as,survivability components 216 in base station 1 218, survivabilitycomponents 226 in base station 2 228, and survivability components 236in base station 4 238 to establish or reestablish communications.

The mobile terminals 220, 230, 240, 250, and 260 include survivabilitycomponents 205, 215, 225, 235, and 245, respectively that are configuredto activate when the communications network is disrupted. Thesurvivability components may be implemented as software applications,firmware, hardware, or a combination of hardware and softwareapplications.

In the illustrative examples, the survivability components 205, 215,225, 235, and 245 of mobile terminals 220, 230, 240, 250, and 260 may beactivated by a base station, such as base station 218, 228, 238, and 248in mobile wireless communications network 200. Alternatively, mobileterminals 220, 230, 240, 250, and 260 may be configured to detectdisruptions within the network without any indication from a basestation.

The illustrations of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are not meant to imply physicalor architectural limitations to the manner in which differentembodiments may be implemented. Other components in addition to or inplace of the components illustrated may be implemented in a specificcommunications network. Additionally, some components may be unnecessaryin some embodiments. For example, some communication networks mayinclude a plurality of base stations and a plurality of mobileterminals. Other communications networks may include a single basestation. Other communication network may not include mobile terminals.Additionally, in other illustrative embodiments, for example, satelliteground station 294 and communications satellite 292 may not be included.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a detailed diagram of a base station is shownaccording to an illustrative embodiment of the disclosure. In FIG. 3,the functionality of the network components required to continuecommunication within a disrupted communications network, such as network200 in FIG. 2, is illustrated.

In diagram 300, base station 310 includes a plurality of communicationcomponents 316 that enable base station 310 to accept, process, anddeliver communications within a wireless communications network such aswireless communications network 100 of FIG. 1.

The communication components 316 may include, without limitation, radioreceivers and transmitters 320, network communications apparatus 324,base station manager 322, power supply, 326 and external networkconnections 328. Radio transmitters and receivers 320 send and receiveradio signals, amplify them, and control the operation of the radiosignals based on the protocol of the terminals in a particular network.

Radio transmitters and receivers 320 and network communicationsapparatus 324 are coupled to a base station manager 322. Base stationmanager 322 supervises the operation of base station 310 including theradio transmitters and receivers 320 and the network communicationsapparatus 324. A local power network may become unavailable in the eventof a disruption such as a network services disruption or communicationsdisruption as depicted in FIG. 2.

Power supply 326 provides power to operate base station 310. Powersupply 326 is configured to provide power to base station 310 from alocal power network (not shown) when available. Power supply 326 maycontinue to provide power to base station 310 using a battery, agenerator set, a renewable power station, or a combination of thesepower sources, when a local power network is not available. Externalnetwork connections 328 of base station 310 allow the base station 310to interface with external devices.

The communication components 316 also include survivability modecomponents 330. During the normal operation of base station 310,survivability mode components 330 monitors or shadows the operation ofthe corresponding components in the wireless communications network 200and store information about the processing of the components, theoperation of the components, and the status of the components.

In the event of a disruption, such as a communications disruption ornetwork services disruption as depicted in FIG. 2, the informationstored in the survivability components 330 is enabled or activated tomaintain communications activity and services within the coverage areaof the surviving base station. In embodiments of this disclosure, asurviving base station is a base station that is operative to receiveand transmit radio waves during emergencies or after a communicationdisruption has occurred.

] Turning now to FIG. 4, a detailed block diagram 400 of thesurvivability mode components of a base station 410 according to anillustrative embodiment of the disclosure is depicted. The survivabilitycomponents 430 of base station 410 may feature components included insurvivability components 330 of FIG. 3.

Base station 410 includes communications components comprising radiotransmitters and receivers 420 and network communications apparatus 424that are coupled to a base station manager 422. Base station manager 422supervises the operation of base station 410 including the radiotransmitters and receivers 420 and the network communications apparatus424.

Power supply 426 provides power to operate of base station 410 in caseswhere a local power network becomes unavailable in the event of adisruption, such as a network services disruption or communicationsdisruption as depicted in FIG. 2.

Survivability components 430 are configured to work within the basestation. In these depicted examples, survivability components 430 arelisted as individual elements. However, survivability components 430 mayalso be implemented as software processes cooperating within a processorof a base station manager, such as base station manager 422.

During the normal operation base station 410, the survivability modecomponents 430 shadow or record functions in the corresponding networkelements and store information about their process, operation, andstatus. Detector 438 monitors external network connections 460 and thecommunication activities of mobile terminals within a communicationsnetwork to determine whether a disruption exists within thecommunications network, such as communications network 100 of FIG. 1 andcommunications network 200 of FIG. 2. Detector 438 may detect adisruption of the communications network from information received on,for example, without limitation, the failure of a communications link toexternal network connections 460, disruptions within the communicationsnetwork provided by mobile terminals or an operations failure by thebase station manager 422.

The detection of a disruption by detector 438 enables detector 438 toactivate or enable operations of the base station in a survivabilitymode to facilitate continued communication operations with local mobileterminals, surviving base stations and surviving network componentswithin the communications network.

In survivability mode, detector 438 activates operations controller 436.Operations controller 436implements processes to manage the continuedoperation of a base station in survivability mode. In survivabilitymode, operations controller may operate with base station manager 422 tooperate base station 400. Base station manager 422 supervises theoperation of base station 400 including the radio transmitters andreceivers 420 connected to antennas within the antenna tower of basestation 410.

Detector 438 enables operations controller 436 to operate base stationmanager 422 and survivability components 430 in an active orsurvivability mode. Detector 438 is also operative to restore normalbase station operations and place the survivability components 430 in amonitoring or passive mode.

S-Radio link 432 may be activated in a survivability mode to enablecommunication traffic between other operational or surviving basestations or nodes in surviving networks. S-radio link 432 may includesignaling and traffic channels. Detector 438 and operations controller436 activate S-Radio link 432 to enable network services andcommunications to be provided across and within network areas of basestations. S-Radio link 432 may use the same communication channels asmobile terminals to enable a base station to communicate with other basestations in a manner similar to mobile-to-mobile terminalcommunications. For example, a base station with an S-Radio link 432 isenabled to receive and transmit radio frequency signals from anotherbase station.

Radio network controller 440 may be activated or enabled by operationscontroller 436 and detector 438 operating in survivability mode. Radionetwork controller 440 operates with mobility and location controller444 to manage the connections of mobile terminals within a base stationcoverage area. Radio network controller 440 operations may includesupervising the transfer of communications between surviving basestations as a mobile station moves or transitions between coverage areasfrom a first surviving base station within a first coverage area ofradio network controller 440 and a second surviving base station withina second coverage area of radio network controller 440.

Radio network controller 440 may also provide warnings or alerts tomobile terminals as a mobile terminal moves or transitions to the limitor edge of a base station coverage area that is supervised by radionetwork controller 440. The warnings may be formatted as, for example,without limitation, pre-recorded speech announcement, re-order tones, ortext messages.

Radio network controller 440 together or in cooperation with mobilitymanagement entity 446 contain resources and processes to permit theplanning and routing of call and communications traffic among the mobileterminals in a communications coverage area, routing to othercommunication network sites, and communication relays between terminalsthat are equipped. Radio network controller 440 and mobility managemententity 446 also include the ability to provide information on mobileterminals in geographic locations that are available for networkservices and network services that may be available in a particulargeographic region.

The authenticator 442 component monitors authentication processes of itscorresponding component in the communication network, such asauthentication center 214, during normal operations. The authenticationand authorization processes may include, for example, withoutlimitation, back-up keys and processes, encryption algorithms, andsecurity policies. Authenticator 442 stores all relevant parametersduring normal operations of the base station.

Authenticator 442 may be activated into survivability mode by detector438 in a network disruption. In survivability mode, authenticator 442provides authentication and authorization processes for mobile terminalsin a surviving area. A surviving area is a geographical or coverage areaof the surviving base stations that are operating in survivability mode.In survivability mode, the back-up keys and processes will enable mobileterminals from different networks to be operated together andadditionally enables the provision of additional emergency services togroups of terminals. In some embodiments, authenticator 442 may not berequired as a base station may operate with minimal or no authenticationand encryption of radio traffic. In these embodiments, mobile terminalsmay rely on their own individual encryptions and authentication forsecurity.

The visitor location register and home location register 448 may also beactivated by detector 438 in a disrupted network. Visitor locationregister and home location register 448 (HLR/VLR) and mobilitymanagement entity 446 (MME) duplicate the function of correspondingcomponents, such as MME 210 and HLR/VLR 212 in mobile wirelesscommunications network 200. Visitor location register and home locationregister 448 provide continued identification and service subscriptionsof the terminals within the coverage area of a base station. The visitorlocation register and home location register 448 may be preconfigured orpreloaded with information that enables authentication and management ofthe mobile terminals in survivability mode. The visitor locationregister and home location register 448 and mobility management entity446 (MME) maintain a register of terminals in a base station's area tofacilitate communication among terminals.

The visitor location register and home location register 448 may alsocontain information on the location of mobile terminals in the area of abase station that was previously recorded or cached from correspondingnetwork components, such as MME 210 and HLR/VLR 212, previouslyoperating in normal mode. The previously recorded and cached informationenable the continued identification of mobile terminals within thecommunications networks, including mobile terminals that may be switchedoff or inactive at the time the network is disrupted.

In an embodiment, a number of base stations may be available. Visitorlocation register (VLR) and home location register (HLR) 448 exchangeinformation with the available base stations and their VLR/HLR and MMEcomponents to enable existing terminals to be located within thesurviving group of base stations. Visitor location register and homelocation register 448 may also translate phone numbers to forward tolocal terminals and services. For example, visitor location register andhome location register 448 may translate emergency contact numbers toappropriate locally available facilities or provide appropriate messageresponses, such as out-of-service announcements and message exchanges.

Locator 450 provides location services to supplement the locationcapabilities of the mobile network which include, without limitation,processing services for mobile terminals that require processing by anetwork of location measurements, such as, without limitation, GlobalPositioning System satellite signals. Locator 450 may also provideadditional transmissions and processing facilities to enable thetransmissions from the base station to be used for location servicesprocessed by the mobile terminals or by the base station itself or incooperation with other available or operating base stations. In theevent that radio signals from location services are no longer available,the locator 450 may be equipped to provide replacement signals for somelocation services. This may include, for example, without limitation,supplemental land-based or terrestrial signals for the satellitelocation services or other completely land-based location techniquesthat may be recognized by one skilled in the art.

Storage server 452, during normal operations of base station 410,maintains a cache or storage of recent local communications traffic andinformation on applications that are being used throughout a network.Storage server 452 captures and updates this information, during normaloperation, from its corresponding server components in thecommunications network, such as gateway serving node 208.

During a disruption or network outage, storage server 452 is activatedby the operations controller 436 to function as a local server. Theinformation in storage server 452 may be accessed using protocols andaddresses similar to the protocols and addresses being used when thenetwork was available. In addition, the storage server 452 may bepreloaded with information that may be used in the local area of thebase station to continue network operations. For example, storage server452 may contain information or resources including, without limitation,maps, infrastructure plans, addresses, repair manuals, and other suchinformation that may be useful during an emergency.

Communications controller 454 may be configured to provide visual aid orviews to terminals during a network disruption. The communicationscontroller 454 may additionally initiate specialized services such asbroadcast information voice and data channels that enable terminalswithin the network to communicate. For example, communicationscontroller 454 may facilitate the formation and operation of groups ofterminals in sharing information, voice communications, and otherservices.

Communications controller 454 may also designate radio channels forpeer-to-peer communications for terminals capable of establishing suchlinks. In the peer-to-peer mode, a base station may provide through aradio network controller 440 and a Visitor location register and homelocation register 448, suitable identification and addressing codes forterminals to identify each other and for allocation and supervision ofpeer-to-peer channels.

S-Radio controller 434 enables communication services to be continuedand extended over areas in which base stations exist within a networkafter a disruption. S-Radio controller 434 may be used together withS-Radio link 432 by detector 438 to determine the extent of a disruptionwithin a communications network. For example, the disruption may be alocal communications or network failure of a single base station withina communications network or it may be a global failure affecting aplurality of base stations. Detector 438 may operate S-Radio controller434 and S-Radio link 432 to determine the existence and operating statusof other base stations in the network and whether the base stations areoperating in a survivability mode or are not affected by any network orcommunications disruptions.

S-Radio controller 434 may also contain apparatus that facilitates theradio transmitters and receivers 420 to utilize the same radio channelsas mobile terminals within the network to enable a base station tocommunicate with other base stations. The S-Radio controller 434 mayalso enable communication with other base stations or network nodesusing the S-Radio link 432.

External network connections 460 interface with external networkfacilities and components. External network connections may be monitoredby detector 438 to determine whether the network components aredisrupted and whether the base station should enter survivability mode.Detector 438 also monitors the network to determine whether networkcommunications are restored and enables the base station to be returnedto normal operations and the operations of the survivability modecomponents 430 to be discontinued.

Turning now to FIG. 5 a block diagram of mobile terminal 500 isillustrated according to an illustrative embodiment of the disclosure.Mobile terminal 500 may be equipped with terminal survivability modeapplications 518 that may be activated during a services orcommunications disruption.

Mobile terminal 500 includes components that may be present in a mobileterminal 500, such as, without limitation, radio frequency transceivers530, a display 550, microphone 560, speaker 570, keyboard 540, and aninterface 512. Mobile terminal 500 may also include local externalinterfaces 580, communication processing 514, terminal applicationprocesses 516, and a power supply 520. Mobile terminal 500 may bepreloaded with terminal survivability mode applications 518 to enablethe mobile terminal 500 to activate a survivability or emergency modeduring a disruption of communications.

For example, in an embodiment, the survivability mode applications 518may be activated through a flag or other indicator received from a basestation that indicates that communications services are disrupted orunavailable. In another embodiment, the terminal survivability modeapplications 518 may be activated through communication of a parametersent over a network, such as an access channel response message.

FIG. 6 illustrates detailed block diagram 600 of the survivability modeapplications 620 that may exist as part of the survivability modeapplication, such as the terminal survivability mode applications 518 ofFIG. 5.

Terminal survivability mode applications 620 may include a number ofdifferent applications such as, without limitation, alternateidentification 630, terminal end-to-end applications 640, radiofrequency scanning 650, mode displays 660, mode conservation operation670, traffic throttling 680, environmental sampling 690, andenvironmental sensors 692.

The alternate identification 630 may interpret broadcast signaling froma base station and enable the survivability functions. Alternateidentification 630 allows the mobile terminal to maintain an additionalidentity that may be authenticated by another mobile terminal or a basestation within a communications network. The additional identity mayinclude, without limitation, the terminal name, the terminalaffiliation, for example, ambulance, federal emergency, managementagency, and the terminal user function, such as medic, electrician,police, fire, or other such functions.

In terminal end-to-end applications 640, a number of mobile terminalsmay communicate with each other within a communications network ordirectly with each other. Terminal end-to-end applications 640 mayenable the receiving and sending of information and packets among aplurality of mobile terminals. For example, three-way or multiple waycommunications may be enabled. Additionally, for example, text messagesmay be exchanged among devices or terminals within a coverage areaduring a disruption.

Radio frequency scanning 650 may enable the mobile terminal to scan itslocal area to determine the existence of surviving base stations. Theinformation obtained through the scan may include, without limitation,the mode of operation of the base stations, for example, whether thebase stations are operating in energy savings mode or on battery power.This information would then be communicated to a user to enable manualselection with the base station that is active. The information may alsobe communicated to operational base stations that are minimallydisrupted or unaffected by the communications disruption, to assist inre-forming islands of coverage, channel assignments and routing oftraffic.

Mode displays 660 will provide some displays to the terminal user toindicate the operating mode of a terminal. For example, in aconservations operation mode, a mobile terminal may be operated in amode in which it conserves power for itself and also for a base station.For example, if a terminal is operated in a power saving mode, it mayreduce the amount of signaling to a base station which would result in aconservation of power. In addition, the terminal may provide a displaythat provides information regarding the terminal, base station, ornetwork being operated in survivability mode.

Traffic throttling 680 controls the amount of network traffic that maybe used in a survival mode to prevent the surviving components in anetwork from becoming overloaded. Environmental sampling 690 enablesenvironmental sensors 692 to sense environmental conditions orqualities, such as pressure, air temperature, weather conditions, airquality, or other similar environmental conditions that may berecognized by one skilled in the art. The information from these sensorsmay be sent to other terminals or survivability components in thesurviving network and used to assist in the management and recovery fromthe disruptions.

Turning now to FIG. 7 which comprises partial view FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B,flowchart 700 illustrates the top level operations of a base stationoperating in normal and a survivability mode according to an embodimentof the disclosure.

The operations begin in the monitoring wait state wherein the basestation monitors base station communications at block 710. At block 720,it is determined whether a network disruption exists. A networkdisruption may include, without limitation, network services disruptionsand communication disruptions. Survivability mode components within abase station may continue to shadow and record operations ofcorresponding components within a network in the absence of acommunication network disruption.

The survivability mode component caches information on networkcommunications and traffic at block 780 and continues to monitor basestation communications at block 710 to detect the existence of acommunications network disruption. The detection of a communicationsnetwork disruption at block 720 results in the initiation of basestation survivability mode operations at block 730. The activation ofbase station survivability mode operations at block 732 enables a numberof operations to be activated to maintain communications within anetwork.

For example, at a block 734, the operations controller may initiate abroadcast signaling that indicates that a base station is insurvivability mode. At a block 736, the operations controller mayinitiate communications using radio transceivers and radio links. At ablock 738, call traffic may be handled by survivability mode componentsincluding, without limitation, radio network controller, visitor/homelocation register, mobility management entity, and the authenticator. Ata block 740, storage server may provide information previously cached orstored regarding local services. At a block 742, communicationscontroller may enable the establishment of communication links toprovide local communications. At a block 744, locator may provideinformation that assists in locating mobile terminals in the area of thebase station.

The survivability components continue to monitor the network to detectcontinuing disruptions at a block 750. At a block 760, it is determinedwhether normal operations of the network are restored. The restorationof the normal operations ends the survivability mode at a block 770. Thesurvivability components may store or cache network information at ablock 780 and return to shadow or monitor normal base stationcommunications at block 710.

Turning now to FIG. 8, which comprises partial view FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B,flowchart 800 illustrates top-level operations of a terminal insurvivability mode according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The operation begins by monitoring base station communications at ablock 810. At a block 820, it is determined whether a network disruptionexists. The terminal continues to monitor base station communication ata block 810 in the absence of any network disruptions or networkfailures. The existence of network disruptions at a block 820 results inthe initiation of a survivability mode for a terminal at a block 830.

Terminal survivability mode is initiated at a block 832. Thesurvivability mode includes, without limitation, the activation ofalternate identification at a block 834 that enable the terminal to beidentified by a base station. The survivability displays at block 846may indicate that the terminal and the network are operating insurvivability mode. The survivability mode may also include radiofrequency scanning of available radio links and other base stations atblock 836. The terminal activities may also include traffic throttlingat block 838 which enable the terminal to reduce the rate at which theterminal communicates with a base station. Additional activities mayinclude the activation of end-to-end application at a block 840,environmental sampling and reports 842.

The terminal survivability applications continue to monitor informationreceived from base stations about continuing disruptions in the networkat a block 850. At a block 860, it is determined whether normaloperations of the network are restored. The restoration of the normaloperations ends the terminal survivability mode at a block 870. Innormal operation, the terminal survivability applications returns to themonitoring of base station communications at block 810.

Survivability mode conservation operations 844 may be initiated to savepower and radio resources in the mobile terminal and in its interactionwith the base station. Radio resources may include, without limitation,time, frequency and radio frequency (RF) power within a particular radiofrequency spectrum.

Survivability mode conservation 844 operations may include, for example,longer sleep cycles, shortened broadcast signaling, and reduced radioaccess technology format types. In expanding coverage, mobile terminalsin a survivability mode may support extended range operations through,for example, without limitation, additional power in radio frequencysignal transmissions, lower transmission rates, higher coding formats,alternate antenna configurations, and smaller orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing (OFDM) tile sizes or time division multiple access(TDMA) frames. This may also include operating the radio accesstechnology with a reduced set of features. For example, instead ofoperating in a complex Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)mode, the radio access technology may operate in a Global System forMobile (GSM) communication mode.

The mobile terminal and the base station may also coordinate theirtransmissions to reduce interference between mobile network systems.Reducing interference between mobile network systems increases the rangeof the mobile terminals that are operating in survivability mode bylimiting usage and reducing traffic within a communications network. Theresources of the mobile terminal in survivability mode may also beconserved by enabling device-to-device communications among mobileterminals that are operational and capable of device-to-devicecommunications and that are within signal range of another mobileterminal.

Referring now to FIG. 9, a block diagram of a mobile terminal 900 isillustrated according to an illustrative embodiment of the disclosure.Mobile terminal 900 may be a mobile wireless communication device, suchas a mobile cellular device, that may function as a smart terminal suchas smart terminal 500 in FIG. 5. Mobile terminal 900 may be configuredto implement features of the disclosure, such as the terminalsurvivability mode applications 518 as depicted in FIG. 5.

Examples of applicable communication devices include pagers, mobilecellular phones, cellular smart-phones, wireless organizers, personaldigital assistants, computers, laptops, handheld wireless communicationdevices, wirelessly enabled notebook computers and such othercommunication devices.

Mobile terminal 900 includes communication elements in communicationsubsystem 924 that may be configured to perform radio frequencycommunications through antenna system 926. Antenna system 926 mayinclude a plurality of antennas for simultaneous radio frequency signaltransmission or reception.

The mobile terminal is a two-way communication device with advanced datacommunication capabilities including the capability to communicate withother mobile devices, computer systems, assistants through a network oftransceivers. In FIG. 9, mobile terminal 900 includes a number ofcomponents similar to the components described in mobile terminal 500 ofFIG. 5. The components include, for example, without limitation, mainprocessor 948 that controls the overall operation of mobile terminal900. Communication functions are performed through communicationsubsystem 924. Communication subsystem 924 receives messages from andsends messages across wireless link 950 to wireless network 928.

Communications subsystem 924 provides communication between the mobiledevice 900 and different systems or devices such as antenna system 926,without the use of the wireless network 928. For example, communicationssubsystem 924 may include an infrared device and associated circuits andcomponents for short-range communication. Examples of short-rangecommunication standards include standards developed by the Infrared DataAssociation (IrDA), Bluetooth, and the 802.1 1 family of standardsdeveloped by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).Short range communications may include, for example, without limitation,radio frequency signals within a 2.4 GHz band or a 5.8 GHz band.

In this illustrative embodiment of the mobile terminal, thecommunication subsystem 924 is configured in accordance with the GlobalSystem for Mobile Communication (GSM) and General Packet Radio Services(GPRS) standards. The GSM/GPRS wireless network is used worldwide and itis expected that these standards will be superseded eventually by, forexample, without limitation, Evolved Enhanced Data GSM Environment(EEDGE) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS),), HighSpeed Packet Access (HSPA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and otherstandards applicable to multiple input multiple output technology. Newstandards are still being defined, but it is believed that they willhave similarities to the network behavior described herein, and it willalso be understood by persons skilled in the art that the embodimentsdescribed herein are intended to use any other suitable standards thatare developed in the future.

The wireless link 950 connecting the communication subsystem 924 withwireless network 928 represents one or more different radio frequency(RF) channels, operating according to defined protocols specified forGSM/GPRS communications. With newer network protocols, these channelsare capable of supporting both circuit switched voice communications andpacket switched data communications.

Although the wireless network 928 associated with mobile terminal 900may be a GSM/GPRS/EDGE wireless network in one illustrativeimplementation, other wireless networks may also be associated with themobile terminal 900 in variant implementations. Examples of thesenetworks include, but are not limited to, Code Division Multiple Access(CDMA) or CDMA2000 networks, GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks (as mentionedabove), third-generation (3G) networks such as UMTS, HSPA, and alsofuture fourth-generation (4G) networks such as such as LTE and WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WiMax).

Main processor 948 also interacts with additional subsystems such asRandom Access Memory (RAM) 922, a flash memory 920, a display 918, anauxiliary input/output (I/)O) 936 subsystem, a data port 938, a keyboard940, a speaker 944, a microphone 946, and other device subsystems 952.

Some of the subsystems of the mobile terminal 900 performcommunication-related functions, whereas other subsystems may provide“resident” or on-device functions. By way of example, the display 918and the keyboard 940 may be used to provide both communication-relatedfunctions, such as entering a text message for transmission over thenetwork 928, and device-resident functions such as a calculator and/ortask list.

The mobile terminal 900 can send and receive communication signals overthe wireless network 928 after required network registration oractivation procedures have been completed. Network access is associatedwith a subscriber or user of the mobile terminal 900. To identify asubscriber, the mobile terminal 900 requires a Subscriber IdentityModule or a Removable User Identity Module, SIM/RUIM module 916, to beinserted into a SIM/RUIM interface 930 in order to communicate with anetwork. The SIM/RUIM module 916 is one type of a conventional “smartcard” that can be used to identify a subscriber of the mobile terminal900 and to personalize the mobile terminal 900, among other things.Without the SIM/RUIM module 916, the mobile terminal 900 is not fullyoperational to communicate with the wireless network 928.

By inserting the SIM/RUIM module 916 into the SIM/RUIM interface 930, asubscriber can access all subscribed services. Services may include: webbrowsing and messaging such as e-mail, voice mail, Short Message Service(SMS), and Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS). More advanced servicesmay include: point of sale, field service and sales force automation.The SIM/RUIM module 916 includes a processor and memory tostoreinformation. Once the SIM/RUIM module 916 is inserted into theSIM/RUIM interface 930, it is coupled to main processor 948. In order toidentify the subscriber, the SIM/RUIM module 916 can include some userparameters such as an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI).

A feature of using the SIM/RUIM module 916 is that a subscriber is notnecessarily bound by any single physical mobile terminal. The SIM/RUIMmodule 916 may store additional subscriber information for a mobileterminal as well, including various personal information such as, forexample a datebook or calendar information and recent call information.Alternatively, user identification information can also be programmedinto the flash memory 920.

The mobile terminal 900 is a battery-powered device and includes abattery interface 932 to receive one or more rechargeable batteries 934.In at least some embodiments, the battery 934 can be a smart batterywith an embedded microprocessor. The battery interface 932 is coupled toa regulator (not shown), which assists the battery 934 in providingpower V+ to the mobile terminal 900. Although current technology makesuse of a battery, future technologies such as micro fuel cells mayprovide the power to the mobile terminal 900.

The mobile terminal 900 also includes an operating system 902 andsoftware components 904 to 914 which are described in more detail below.The operating system 902 and the software components 904 to 914 that areexecuted by main processor 948 are typically stored in a persistentstore such as the flash memory 920, which may alternatively be aread-only memory (ROM) or similar storage element (not shown). Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that portions of the operating system948 and the software components 904 to 914 such as specific deviceapplications, or parts thereof, may be temporarily loaded into avolatile store such as the RAM 922. Other software components can alsobe included, as is well known to those skilled in the art.

The subset of software applications 952 that control basic deviceoperations, including data, voice communication applications, antennasystem 926, and communication subsystem 924 applications will normallybe installed on the mobile terminal 900 during its manufacture. Othersoftware applications include a message application 904 that can be anysuitable software program that allows a user of the mobile terminal 900to send and receive electronic messages.

Various alternatives exist for the message application 904 as is wellknown to those skilled in the art. Messages that have been sent orreceived by the user are typically stored in the flash memory 920 of themobile terminal 900 or some other suitable storage element in the mobileterminal 900. In at least some embodiments, some of the sent andreceived messages may be stored remotely from the device 900 such as ina data store of an associated host system with which the mobile terminal900 communicates.

The software applications can further include a device state module 906,a Personal Information Manager (PIM) 908 and other suitable modules (notshown). The device state module 906 provides persistence which meansthat the device state module 906 ensures that important device data isstored in persistent memory, such as the flash memory 920, so that thedata is not lost when the mobile terminal 900 is turned off or losespower. [00115] The PIM 908 includes functionality to organize and managedata items of interest to the user, such as, but not limited to, e-mail,contacts, calendar events, voice mails, appointments, and task items. APIM application has the ability to send and receive data items via thewireless network 928. PIM data items may be seamlessly integrated,synchronized, and updated via the wireless network 928 with the mobileterminal subscriber's corresponding data items stored or associated witha host computer system. This functionality creates a mirrored hostcomputer on the mobile terminal 900 with respect to such items, whichmay be applicable when the host computer system is the mobile terminalsubscriber's office computer system.

The mobile terminal 900 also includes a connect module 910, and aninformation technology (IT) policy module 912. The connect module 910implements the communication protocols that are required for the mobileterminal 900 to communicate with the wireless infrastructure and anyhost system, such as an enterprise system, with which the mobileterminal 900 is authorized to interface.

The connect module 910 includes a set of application programminginterfaces (APIs) that can be integrated with the mobile terminal 900 toallow the mobile terminal 900 to use any number of services associatedwith the enterprise system. The connect module 910 allows the mobileterminal 900 to establish an end-to-end secure, authenticatedcommunication pipe with the host system. A subset of applications forwhich access is provided by the connect module 910 can be used to passIT policy commands from the host system to the mobile terminal 900. Thiscan be done in a wireless or wired manner. These instructions can thenbe passed to the IT policy module 912 to modify the configuration of thedevice 900. Alternatively, in some cases, the IT policy update can alsobe done over a wired connection.

The IT policy module 912 receives IT policy data that encodes the ITpolicy. The IT policy module 912 then ensures that the IT policy data isauthenticated by the mobile terminal 900. The IT policy data can then bestored in the flash memory 920 in its native form. After the IT policydata is stored, a global notification can be sent by the IT policymodule 912 to all of the applications residing on the mobile terminal900. Applications for which the IT policy may be applicable then respondby reading the IT policy data to look for IT policy rules that areapplicable.

The Terminal Survivability Application module 914 monitors the networkcommunications through the communications subsystem 926 and initiatesand terminates the terminal survivability mode and the functions of thesurvivability components such as those described with reference to FIG.7 and FIG. 8.

Other types of software applications can also be installed on the mobileterminal 900. These software applications can be third partyapplications, which are added after the manufacture of the mobileterminal 900. Examples of third party applications include games,calculators, utilities, and other similar applications know to oneskilled in the art.

The additional applications can be loaded onto the mobile terminal 900through the wireless network 928, the auxiliary I/O 936 subsystem, thedata port 938, the communication subsystem 924, or any other suitabledevice subsystem 952. This flexibility in application installationincreases the functionality of the mobile terminal 900 and may provideenhanced on-device functions, communication-related functions, or both.For example, secure communication applications may enable electroniccommerce functions and other such financial transactions to be performedusing the mobile terminal 900.

The data port 938 enables a subscriber to set preferences through anexternal device or software application and extends the capabilities ofthe mobile terminal 900 by providing information or software downloadsto the mobile terminal 900 other than through a wireless communicationnetwork. The alternate download path may, for example, be used to loadan encryption key onto the mobile terminal 900 through a direct and thusreliable and trusted connection to provide secure device communication.

The data port 938 may be any suitable port that enables datacommunication between the mobile terminal 900 and another computingdevice. The data port 938 may be a serial or a parallel port. In someinstances, the data port 938 may be a USB port that includes data linesfor data transfer and a supply line that can provide a charging currentto charge the battery 934 of the mobile terminal 900.

In operation, a received signal such as a text message, an e-mailmessage, or web page download will be processed by the communicationsubsystem 924 and input to main processor 948. Main processor 948 willthen process the received signal for output to the display 918 oralternatively to the auxiliary I/O subsystem 936. A subscriber may alsocompose data items, such as e-mail messages, for example, using thekeyboard 940 in conjunction with the display 918 and possibly theauxiliary I/O subsystem 936.

The auxiliary I/O subsystem 936 may include devices such as: a touchscreen, mouse, track ball, infrared fingerprint detector, or a rollerwheel with dynamic button pressing capability. The keyboard 940 ispreferably an alphanumeric keyboard together with or without atelephone-type keypad. However, other types of keyboards may also beused. A composed data item may be transmitted over the wireless network928 through the communication subsystem 924.

With respect to voice communications, the overall operation of themobile terminal 900 is substantially similar, except that the receivedsignals are output to the speaker 944, and signals for transmission aregenerated by the microphone 946. Alternative voice or audio I/Osubsystems, such as a voice message recording subsystem, can also beimplemented on the mobile terminal 900. Although voice or audio signaloutput is accomplished primarily through the speaker 944, the display918 can also be used to provide additional information such as theidentity of a calling party, duration of a voice call, or other voicecall related information.

While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure,it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods may beembodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spiritor scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intention is notto be limited to the details given herein. The embodiment or embodimentsselected are chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure ofvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated. For example, the various elements orcomponents may be combined or integrated in another system or certainfeatures may be omitted or not implemented.

The processes disclosed herein may be implemented by a computerimplemented process in which a different illustrated action may take theform of program code embodied on a computer recordable storage medium ordevice for execution by a controller or processor unit such as acommunications processor 514. The recordable storage medium or devicemay be, for example, semiconductor memory, EPROM, a hard disk drive, aflash drive, a solid state disk drive, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM,or some other mechanical storage device. The substantive programs thatcontrol basic device operations, including data and voice communicationapplications, will normally be installed on a mobile terminal duringmanufacture, but may also be installed or updated after deployment.

Also, techniques, systems, and subsystems, described and illustrated inthe various embodiments as discreet or separate may be combined orintegrated with other systems, modules, or techniques without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure. Other items shown or discussedas coupled or directly coupled or in communication with each other maybe indirectly coupled or communicated through some other interface,device, or intermediate component whether electrically, mechanically, orotherwise. Other examples of changes, substitution, and alterations areascertainable by one skilled in the art and could be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system of base stations and mobile terminals distributed within a communications network, the system comprising: a number of survivability components operatively monitoring communications within the communications network, wherein the survivability components are located with at least one base station, and wherein a number of the survivability components perform functions of corresponding components within the communications network.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the survivability components include a detector that determines an existence of a communications disruption within the communications network.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the survivability components are located within at least one mobile terminal.
 4. The system of claim 2, wherein the survivability components include an operations controller activated by the detector to manage operations of the at least one base station with a base station manager component in the at least one base station.
 5. The system of claim 2, wherein the survivability components include a mobility and location controller comprising a mobility management entity and a visitor location register and home location register to identify locations of mobile terminals within a coverage area of a base station.
 6. The system of claim 2, wherein the survivability components include an authenticator that provides authentication and authorization processes to mobile terminals in a surviving area.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the survivability components include a S-Radio link that is enabled by the detector to establish a communications link between base stations within the communications network.
 8. The system of claim 4, wherein the survivability components further comprise a storage server that is activated by the operations controller to provide local information and resources.
 9. A base station of a communications network comprising: survivability components that maintain operation of the base station during a network failure of the communications network, wherein a number of the survivability components correspond to components within the communications network that perform a same function.
 10. The base station of claim 9, wherein the survivability components comprise: a detector that determines the existence of the network failure.
 11. The base station of claim 10, wherein the detector activates operations of the survivability components at the base station.
 12. The base station of claim 9, wherein each survivability component monitors its corresponding component within the communications network and caches information and activity of the corresponding component.
 13. The base station of claim 9, wherein the number of the survivability components are preloaded with information.
 14. The base station of claim 13, wherein a storage server is preloaded with information.
 15. The base station of claim 13, wherein at least one of an authenticator, mobility management entity, visitor location register and home location register is preloaded with information.
 16. The base station of claim 9, wherein the survivability components further comprise: a S-Radio link that is activated by the detector to enable communication traffic between operational base stations.
 17. The base station of claim 10, wherein the survivability components further comprise: an operations controller that is activated by the detector to enable operations of the base station in a survivability mode.
 18. A mobile terminal of a communications network, comprising: a plurality of applications that, in response to being executed by a processor, maintain operations in a survivability mode activated by a mobile terminal during a disruption of communications within the communications network.
 19. The mobile terminal of claim 18, wherein the plurality of applications comprise: radio frequency scanning that determines a location of surviving base stations.
 20. The mobile terminal of claim 18, wherein the plurality of applications further comprise: environmental sampling that enables environmental sensors to sense environmental conditions.
 21. The mobile terminal of claim 18, wherein the plurality of applications further comprise: conservation operations that save power and resources within the mobile terminal as the mobile terminal interact with a base station.
 22. The mobile terminal of claim 18, wherein the plurality of applications further comprise: an alternate identification that interprets broadcast signaling from a base station and enables the survivability mode.
 23. A method of operating a base station, comprising: determining an existence of a communications failure; and activating operations of survivability components in a number of base stations included in a communication network in response to determining the existence of the communications failure.
 24. The method of claim 23, further comprising: retrieving information cached within a storage server of the base station in response to the existence of the communications failure, wherein the cached information is stored within the storage server prior to determining the existence of the communications failure. 